Ninja Gaidens Ryu Hayabusa to be playable in the next Dynasty Warriors game

Tecmo Koei continues to play matchmaker with its biggest franchises

Ryu Hayabusa seems to be everywhere these days. Not only is he the star of next year’s Ninja Gaiden 3, he’s one of only two confirmed fighters for Dead or Alive 5, featured in the only footage we’ve seen of the game to date. And he just keeps expanding his influence as he’ll now be a playable character in the next Dynasty Warriors game, Musou Orochi 2.

According to Siliconera the upcoming sequel to Warriors will hit Japanese stores December and not only has Ryu as a playable character, but he’ll have his own special, Ninja Gaiden-style stage. Though Ryu made an unplayable cameo in the PS3 version of Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce, this playable appearance outside of his main series marks something special for both him and the Warriors Orochi series he’ll be appearing in. And perhaps this means that the notoriously plodding fights of the series will be a little more interesting when playing as the ninja assassin.

Also worth noting is that Achilles from the not so famous Dynasty Warriors spin-off Warriors: Legends of Troy will also be playable, as will Jeanne d’Arc from Koei’s mostly forgotten game Bladestorm. Musou Orochi 2 hasn’t been announced for international release yet, but given fairly stable US sales of the Warriors franchise, we’d say this next Orochi title will be announced soon enough.